Latest news with #SonevaFushi
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
KSL Capital Partners Has Taken a Majority Stake in Soneva
DENVER, May 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- KSL Capital Partners, LLC ("KSL"), a leading alternative investment firm, today announced that an affiliate has taken a majority interest in the Soneva Group ("Soneva"), a pioneer in sustainable luxury hospitality since 1995 with award-winning resorts in the Maldives, following the exercise of its right to convert certain securities. The transaction builds on the firm's initial minority investment in November 2019 and underscores KSL's continued conviction in Soneva's long-term strategy and differentiated approach to ultra-luxury experiential travel. To help lead the next phase for Soneva, Neil Gallagher has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Soneva. A seasoned international hospitality leader, Mr. Gallagher brings more than two decades of experience across Europe, the Middle East, the U.S. and the Caribbean. He previously served as CEO and CFO of Clermont Hotel Group (formerly glh Hotels Management) and held leadership roles at IHG Hotels & Resorts, including CFO, Europe. Earlier in his career, Mr. Gallagher held leadership positions at Marriott Vacation Club International. About SonevaFounded in 1995, Soneva is a pioneering, award-winning luxury resorts operator. At Soneva Fushi, Soneva Jani, Soneva Secret and the Soneva in Aqua yacht in the Maldives, true 'luxury' is defined by peace, time and space. Guests discover the SLOW LIFE, reconnecting with themselves and the natural world through rare, unforgettable experiences. Soneva is a pioneer for responsible tourism, combining sustainability with exquisite hospitality and intuitive, personalized service. About KSL Capital Partners KSL Capital Partners, LLC is a private equity firm specializing in travel and leisure enterprises in five primary sectors: hospitality, recreation, clubs, real estate and travel services. KSL has offices in Denver, Colorado; Stamford, Connecticut; New York, New York; and London, England. KSL invests across three primary strategies through its equity, credit and tactical opportunities funds. KSL's current portfolio includes some of the premier properties in travel and leisure. KSL has spent more than three decades investing in luxury and experiential travel, building a leading global portfolio of high-end resorts, destination experiences and hospitality brands. With deep sector expertise and an expansive international footprint, the firm brings significant scale and experience to the global Travel & leisure sector, along with differentiated insight into the ultra-luxury hospitality market. For more information, please visit Media ContactKate Thompson / Erik CarlsonJoele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer KatcherKSL-JF@ 355-4449 View original content: SOURCE KSL Capital Partners Sign in to access your portfolio
Times
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Soneva Fushi Soul Festival is drawing alternative thinkers
If wellness festivals are the new music festivals, then Soul Festival at Soneva Fushi in the Maldives is like the VIP-est bit of Glastonbury. Not only can you see your heroes perform, but you can also hang out with them afterwards — for a whole five days. It's like boozing with Liam and Noel after the Oasis gig. And, just like Glastonbury, to score a pass you have to be either famous, loaded or a freeloader. I'm the only journalist to slip under the Soul Festival velvet rope and I'm pinching myself. Soneva Fushi is the castaway fantasy of its visionary owners, Sonu and Eva Shivdasani, who in 1995 pretty much invented the idea of barefoot luxury and the slogan 'No shoes, no news'. Since then, amid the hundreds of hotels that have sprung up on these pristine atolls, Fushiis still the place where movie stars, billionaire businessmen and their extended families merrily rub sun-kissed shoulders. • This article contains affiliate links that can earn us revenue The Shivdasanis have always invited extraordinary people to their island to share stories and experiences with guests: the astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the actor Stanley Tucci, the tennis player Jonas Bjorkman. But after Sonu was diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2017, they zeroed in on wellbeing, turning the already expansive spa into a space for doctors to practise alternative and western medicine. Alongside ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine, there are cutting-edge integrative medicine treatments, including auto-haemotherapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, cryotherapy, prolotherapy and plasma therapy. The (sugar-free) icing on the (gluten-free) wellness cake is the yearly Soul Festival, when for five days in October this tiny paradise island vibrates with big brains and big ideas. The speakers are wildly varied; for the latest edition they included the dazzling Jamie Wheal, the Pulitzer-nominated author, founder of the Flow Genome project and one of the world's leading experts in human performance, who has worked with US Navy Seals, athletes and Silicon Valley folk. He was joined by Eric Edmeades, the so-called architect of transformation who educates with levity while leaping about the sandy stage; Dr Nasha Winters, the integrative oncology expert and author, who speaks about metabolic health; and Robin Lim, a midwife, who blows us away with her life's work of saving and birthing babies in areas affected by climate change. The big draw is Zach Bush, a specialist in internal medicine, endocrinology and hospice care, who talks about the interconnectedness between the soil and human microbiome, the failing of agriculture and how all these puzzle pieces will determine the future of humanity and the world. The conversation lasts long after the lecture's last clap. Over beach picnics, cocktail parties and sushi dinners, the island is abuzz with swapping and sharing, connecting and challenging, plotting and networking. It feels like the modern version of an ancient trading city, maybe Petra or Venice. But instead of frankincense or spice, the booty is hope and healing. The guests are a hotchpotch of festival junkies, a chapter of Young Presidents' Organisation members, wellbeing investors and inventors peddling wares that include controversial stem-cell therapy, nasal breathing contraptions and a sound-frequency healing bed. There are plenty of sideshows. There's Marcel Hof (Wim's brother) leading the celebrated breathwork-ice-bath combo, ayurvedic pulse diagnosis and gong baths among the wafting palms. And then there's Sanctum: the physical and mindful euphoric-movement system (now famous for getting this year's Davos stiffs to 'raise their vibration'). Its effects are spectacular. As we speed-boat at sunrise to a spit of sand in the sea, we slip on headphones that connect us to the founder Luuk Melisse, who delivers instructions to a soaring soundtrack. He plays us like a fiddle, physically, mentally and emotionally. By the end, some are whooping, others are sobbing. Everyone is feeling something. You can't not be affected by hanging out in this heightened environment. For some, the effects are extreme. Six months post-festival, one attendee tells me the Soul Festival was so inspiring it was like chucking a firework into her life; she has developed a new business, has written a book and explains how 'during that week, my life's purpose became crystal clear. It's like I'm living on psychedelics. Now I can see things.' • The Maldives resort that will challenge your idea of the fly and flop So be warned: unlike a thumping Glasto hangie, the aftershocks of Soul Festival might well change your life. The next Soneva Fushi Soul Festival is from October 9 to 13. Seven nights, from October 9 to 17, staying in a one-bedroom Family Villa Suite with pool, half-board, costs from £9,999pp, based on two sharing, with return seaplane transfers and Etihad flights from London, There's nothing that breaks the ice like crawling around in cold, wet January grass with your bum in the air like a baboon, alongside 15 perfect strangers, writes Alice B-B. I'm at the inaugural Emotional Health Retreat weekend created by Dr Tamsin Lewis, a psychiatrist and the founder of Wellgevity, a longevity-focused functional and integrative medicine service based in London. This primal movement is both ego-shedding and unexpectedly fun. We're on the lawns of a grand private house in Richmond (with ozone pool, sauna, steam and cold plunge), lent to Lewis by its philanthropically minded owner. It's a fat gaff that must have witnessed plenty of riotous behaviour over the years; it was originally Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's hunting lodge and, more recently, home to the Rolling Stones' Ronnie Wood. Our leader is the charming and wildly energetic osteopath Boniface Verney-Carron. We follow him barefoot to encourage hormesis (what doesn't kill you makes you stronger), sniff the grass (to reconnect with nature and lower cortisol), run laps like loons (which gets the heart rate up), hold hands consciously (to properly connect with each other) and then enjoy feeling our heartbeat and breath (helping to connect with ourselves). • 44 health-boosting habits to feel better in 2025 We are living in an epidemic of loneliness and self-isolation, which Vivek Murthy, the former US surgeon general, says 'increases the risk for premature death'. Which is why, on these retreats, Lewis aims to create connectivity and eudaimonia. The latter is an internally driven sense of happiness resulting from an increase of oxytocin and serotonin (most commonly achieved through relating to others and nature — and the opposite of dopamine-chasing hedonism). Bioharmonising, this adaptable, balanced approach, is an alternative to the rigid, toxic biohacking popular with social media 'gurus'. Each retreat is focused on emotional health with a varying roster of therapists. This time there's Rob Rea, a breathwork coach to chief executives, founders, actors and the superyacht brigade, who leads the group in sessions accompanied by the pianist Rosey Chan. Joining him is the intimacy and relationship coach Chloe Mackintosh, who has our group staring into each other's eyes and practising consensual touch. It's a little confronting and my awkward self is hugely relieved to be partnered with my best girlfriend. Once we've gone beyond nervous giggling, her teaching is powerful and jolly useful. 'It's about increased eye contact, being better communicators whether that's for individuals, couples or teaching the art of relating within business,' she says. It's clear from the retreaters I chat to (some very broken, others dealing with relationship issues, others keen for increased intimacy) that this weekend has delivered — both as a reset and a springboard, serving up new tools, ideas and a new community (many of us swap details and make plans for further work with the therapists). 'Emotional health is the heartbeat of longevity,' Lewis says. 'With the right facilitators and environment it's like CTRL-ALT-DELETE for the nervous system — and the group setting magnifies it.' And what feels like a two-fingers-up to the biohacking bros, Lewis adds: 'Wellness is a skill, not a pill.' An emotional wellness retreat costs from £195 a day,
Emirates Woman
12-03-2025
- Emirates Woman
Eid escapes 2025: Where to travel this UAE long weekend
News by Alice Holtham-Pargin 1 min ago We already know that there's a UAE long weekend on the way. And although it's yet to be confirmed whether Eid Al Fitr will be a four- or five-day public holiday in the UAE, we do know it's the perfect opportunity to jet off for a fabulous break. If you're unsure how to spend the Eid holiday, we've got some wanderlust-inducing travel inspo that will take you from golden deserts to sparkling private islands. Here are 6 travel ideas for a dreamy Eid Al Fitr escape. Next-level family fun in the Maldives Flight time from Dubai: 4 hours 30 minutes The stay: In this idyllic archipelago you'll find all the big-hitting hospitality brands that have made a name for themselves around the world. But for the ultimate experiential island resort with wow factor, retreat back to one of the Maldives' first brands, Soneva. Their duo of Maldivian resorts – Soneva Jani and Soneva Fushi both promise fabulous family fun this Eid Al Fitr. When you book a minimum three nights you'll get a fourth night complimentary, or book five nights and stay for seven at no extra cost. While on island time, children enjoy full-board dining and experiences for all ages range from snorkelling with manta rays, to dolphin spotting, films under the stars at the jungle cinema and picnics on private sandbanks. Rates: From AED6,465 From desert to ocean at the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia Flight time from Dubai: 3 hours 30 minutes The stay: One of the world's newest and most exciting tourism destinations, The Red Sea is a megaproject being brought to life on Saudi Arabia's northwest coast. So far half a dozen idyllic resorts have opened, divided between the flame-hued desert and the impossibly turquoise ocean, and whether you're looking to adventure or unwind, there are experiences for all travelling styles. Enjoy bedouin-inspired wellness and desert tranquillity at Six Senses Southern Dunes, or check in to one of the world's only Ritz-Carlton Reserve's at Nujuma, a private island that promises a deep connection to local history. Or there's the duo of new so-Instagrammable-they-could-be-AI resorts – Desert Rock and Shebara, each a feat of architecture and hospitality. Rates: From AED4,000 Remote wilderness in Rajasthan, India Flight time from Dubai: 3 hours to Delhi, 1 hour connecting to Jodphur The stay: Trade soaring city skyscrapers for stretching wilderness at SUJAN JAWAI, a breathtaking retreat backdropped by unspoiled natural beauty. Just 10 luxurious tents make up this sumptuous eco camp, where responsible luxury and sustainability come together to create a magical destination. Spend unforgettable days on wilderness adventures and tracking leopards, wake up to breakfasts in the bush, enjoy sunset yoga outdoors and dine on local flavours underthe starry night's sky. Rates: From AED6,210. Coastal culture in Athens, Greece Flight time from Dubai: 5 hours 10 minutes The stay: The alluring Athenian Riviera has been having a revival, and it's crown jewel is One&Only Aesthesis. A perfect blend of beach bliss and cultural immersion, guests can check-in to villas and bungalows reminiscent of sun-drenched days on the Greek Riviera in the 1960s. While it might not be balmy tan-topping weather, visiting the Grecian capital during shoulder season comes with the opportunity to enjoy bespoke tours without the crowds to Athens most iconic sites, or luxury sailing trips that take you along the craggy coastline. Rates: From AED2,723 A seaside escape in Sri Lanka Flight time from Dubai: 4 hours 30 minutes The stay: Sri Lanka is a popular travel destination for UAE residents, with its vast and varied topography providing the perfect backdrop for trips for friends, families and couples. Among its grand dames, Cape Weligama sits pretty on the palm tree-fringed shores of the South coast, and envelopes guests in oceanic-inspired activities, gourmet cuisine, and local culture. Check in to one of the clifftop villas, soak up the sun from the crescent-shaped infinity pool, and accept the call of the wild with whale watching and crocodile river cruises. Rates: From AED3,560 A rejuvenating wellness break in the Seychelles Flight time from Dubai: 4 hours 30 minutes The stay: Where the verdant jungle meets the pearly white beach sits Cheval Blanc Seychelles. A luxurious escape where natural beauty and thoughtful service perfectly pair, this resort was designed as the ultimate destination for total relaxation. Check in to one of the serene hillside or beachfront villas, and enjoy days spent immersed in nature. See the island from the skies in a private helicopter tour, take to the ocean for a romantic boat trip, or simply enjoy the spoils of the resort with pampering spa treatments tailored for complete mind, body and soul rejuvenation. Rates: From AED11,570 Images: Supplied
